2025 Season in Review: Smash GC
Eleventh in a series of stories reviewing the 2025 season for each of the 13 LIV Golf League teams.
SEASON REVIEWS: 4Aces GC | Cleeks GC | Crushers GC | Fireballs GC | HyFlyers GC | Iron Heads GC | Legion XIII | Majesticks GC | RangeGoats GC | Ripper GC
SMASH GC REVIEW
TEAM: The season ended on a relatively high note for Smash GC after they upset 4Aces GC in the quarterfinals and finished 4th at the Michigan Team Championship. The team struggled with consistency all season as Captain Brooks Koepka was unable to win for the first time in a LIV Golf season. Talor Gooch, however, rediscovered the form that made him a force in 2023 as he claimed LIV Golf Andalucía for the second time in three seasons with a masterful performance in difficult conditions. Smash GC had three podium finishes but went winless as a team in 2025 after winning twice in 2024.
PLAYERS (FINAL POINTS RANKING)
Talor Gooch (6): Gooch has finished inside the top 11 in the LIV Golf standings in all four of his seasons, making him one of the most consistent players in the League’s short history. In 2025, Gooch won at Valderrama for his first individual victory since 2023 and fourth time on LIV Golf. After a slow start to his season, the 33-year-old had a fantastic second half. Gooch didn’t have a top-10 finish in his first six starts through Mexico City but finished in the top 10 in five of his final seven starts.
Brooks Koepka (31): 2025 marks the first of Koepka’s four seasons with LIV Golf that he finished outside of the top 10 in the season-long Individual standings. The Smash GC captain struggled throughout the season, recording only two top-10 finishes. Koepka looked strong in the early going, finishing T7 in Adelaide and 2nd in Singapore, but was unable to crack the top 14 on the leaderboard in any of his final eight starts. Koepka did have a T12 at the U.S. Open at Oakmont but missed the cut in the other three majors.
Graeme McDowell (34): McDowell finished inside the top 10 just once but put forth an admirable performance in Virginia, where he finished T2 and earned his first podium finish on LIV Golf. He contended until the final hole, finishing one shot short of Joaquin Niemann. The Northern Irishman wanted desperately to tee it up at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush but failed to make it through Final Qualifying. Although he lacked high-end finishes, McDowell brought steady play to Smash, finishing in the top 20 on five occasions.
Jason Kokrak (41): Kokrak's top performances in 2025 were T10 finishes at both Singapore and Andalucía. The season was uncharacteristically poor for Kokrak, who finished inside of the Lock Zone in both 2023 and 2024. Although he struggled from tee to green, the 40-year-old was the League’s ninth-best putter, gaining 0.31 strokes per round.
TEAM OVERVIEW
Wins: 0
Podiums: 3
Points Finishes: 6
Seed: 8th
Team Championship: 4th
HIGHLIGHTS
- Upset 4Aces GC in the quarterfinals and finished 4th in the Michigan Team Championship.
- Talor Gooch won at Valderrama for the second time in three seasons.
- 2nd place finish at LIV Golf Korea, where all four Smash GC players finished 27th or better.
- Koepka finished T12 at the U.S. Open despite not being in peak form.
- McDowell’s second-place finish in Virginia, marking his first podium finish on LIV Golf.
TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP RESULTS
Quarterfinals: Defeated 4Aces GC 2-1. Koepka lost to Johnson, 1 up. Gooch def. Reed, 1 up. McDowell/Kokrak def. Pieters/Varner III, 6 & 5.
Semifinals: Lost to Crushers GC 2-1. Gooch lost to DeChambeau 1 up. Koepka def. Lahiri 1 up. McDowell/Kokrak lost to Casey/Howell III, 2 up.
Finals (Tier 2): 4th at 18-under. Koepka 65, Kokrak 65, Gooch 66, McDowell 66.
REGULAR-SEASON RESULTS
Event
Team
Gooch
Koepka
McDowell
Kokrak
Riyadh
10
T44
T33
T21
T21
Adelaide
13
T51
T7
T37
T47
Hong Kong
12
49
T35
T12
T42
Singapore
8
T29
2
53
T10
Miami
T9
T12
T18
T44
T39
Mexico City
6
T13
T30
T17
T34
Korea
2
3
T17
T20
T27
Virginia
3
T10
T33
T2
T23
Dallas
13
T33
WD
T35
T40
Andalucía
T3
1
T32
T41
T10
UK
9
4
T47
T47
T25
Chicago
T8
T8
T29
T52
T17
Indianapolis
10
T32
50
T14
T40
PLAYER-LEAGUE RANKINGS
Player
Off The Tee - Driving
SG: APP (Long)
SG: APP (Medium)
SG: APP (Short)
SG: ARG
SG: Putting
Talor Gooch
-0.06 (27th)
+0.04 (27th)
+0.27 (2nd)
+0.02 (29th)
+0.25 (10th)
+0.00 (27th)
Brooks Koepka
+0.27 (16th)
-0.39 (35th)
-0.20 (45th)
-0.20
(41st)
+0.14 (24th)
-0.18 (37th)
Graeme McDowell
-0.25 (38th)
-0.12 (42nd)
+0.06 (23rd)
-0.09 (34th)
+0.06 (31st)
-0.31 (43rd)
Jason Kokrak
-0.15 (32nd)
-0.08 (38th)
+0.09 (17th)
-0.20 (40th)
-0.31 (45th)
+0.31 (9th)
TEAM PERFORMANCE
Category
Team
League Ranking
Season score
81 under
9th
Round 1
10 over
10th
Round 2
48 under
7th
Round 3
43 under
11th
Par 3
25 over
9th
Par 4
32 over
9th
Par 5
138 under
T11
